Downtown Long Beach is home to a variety of creative sector firms: ad agencies, branding specialists, graphic designers, web design shops and companies that are combinations of all of the above. The creative firms of downtown range from one-person start-ups set up in WeWork, a subscription-based collection of offices, to major agencies like advertising firm interTrend, which occupies an entire building on Broadway.
Jeff Hickman (far left) started Rocket Farm as a freelance venture in 2010 when he tired of the creative restrictions of working for large agencies. His growing firm has given young creatives the opportunity to stay and launch their careers in Long Beach. Pictured with Hickman at Rocket Farm’s temporary location in WeWork, from left, are: Lindsay Mysior, project manager; Jordan Fujimori, marketing manager; Andrew Hakim, digital content manager; and Dooley the dog. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Samantha Mehlinger).
Many of these firms are growing, and their executives choose to remain in Downtown Long Beach both because they see opportunities within the area and because they feel it is an “up and coming” place to be. Each company interviewed by the Business Journal has ties to the local community, and have provided talent graduating from California State University, Long Beach and local schools with the opportunity to remain in Long Beach rather than having to move to Los Angeles for work.
Jeff Hickman founded Rocket Farm in 2010 after deciding to strike out on his own. “I came from very corporate [environments] where it’s like, you have a job title and that’s what you do. And that drove me nuts, because you have no creative collaboration on anything,” he said.
Rocket Farm now has four employees and an office in Downtown Long Beach within the Farmers & Merchants Bank office building, although the team is currently taking up residence in WeWork while their permanent office is being refurbished. The company provides video production, graphic design, website development, social media management, brand development and other creative services. “I said yes to everything and then figured out how to build the team,” Hickman said of the company’s growth.
The firm has provided some young local talent the opportunity to stay in Long Beach. “I came here for school 10 years ago to study film, and I thought, ‘All right, I will enjoy the city for as long as I can and then move to L.A. and find a job in production there, because that’s just how it is,” Andrew Hakim, digital content manager for Rocket Farm, said. “Then I was lucky enough to meet Jeff and continue working here. And that makes me feel fortunate, to be able to stay in the city that I love so much and kind of watch it grow and acquire more clients here.”
California State University, Long Beach alum Sal Flores-Trimble started his own creative agency, Kahlo Creative, in his living room eight years ago. He and his five-person team now occupy an office at the Farmers & Merchants Bank building in Downtown Long Beach. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Brandon Richardson)
Lindsay Mysior, Rocket Farm’s project manager, made a similar assumption upon graduating. “I guess my fear of graduating was going up to L.A. and being part of this big corporate company where I felt like I didn’t matter as much, at least starting out. I have never felt like that here,” she reflected. “There is a lot of opportunity for growth when you work so closely together.”
Jordan Fujimori, digital marketing manager for Rocket Farm, was born and raised in Long Beach. “For me, it’s cool to just see what downtown has become, because growing up this was not a place that I would come,” she said. “It’s just kind of cool to see what it has developed into.”
After serving in marketing positions for a couple of large firms, including RE/MAX, CSULB alum Sal Flores-Trimble decided to start his own company. “I started on my own, pretty much in a living room. And then, you know, it grew from there,” he said. Flores-Trimble formed Kahlo Creative eight years ago. He grew the creative firm – which provides website design, branding and logo design, search engine optimization, social media management and other services – from a one-man operation to a company with five employees. Two years ago, the company moved into offices in the Farmers & Merchants Bank building in downtown.
“Downtown is up and coming. And it’s wonderful. There is a lot of stuff going on, and that’s why we chose downtown,” Flores-Trimble said. Kahlo Creative’s clients include some downtown-area businesses, including The Pie Bar, Romeo Chocolates and Groundwork Fitness.
Property owners and managers recognize that young professionals are attracted to creative office space and are addressing their needs through building renovations and attracting firms such as WeWork offices – pictured at The Hubb at 100 W. Broadway. (Photograph courtesy of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance)
The company also recently started an online publication called Long Beach Home + Living, which has afforded an opportunity to get more involved in the community, according to Flores-Trimble. The publication recently held an awards event called “Best of Long Beach,” which highlighted local businesses, he noted.
Roberto Martinez founded Braven – a creative firm providing strategy and customer research, search engine optimization, web design and development and more – last year. He had been working for a firm in Downtown Los Angeles, and decided to start his own venture in his hometown of Long Beach.
“I am very passionate about the city,” Martinez said. “So, instead of launching my company in West L.A. or Downtown L.A., I decided to move to Downtown Long Beach and really invest into my city. I made that decision fairly early. I wanted it to really be about the fabric of Long Beach and invest into it and drive economic impact into the city.” Martinez has 10 employees and is planning to secure more capital to expand further,” he noted.
The creative sector in downtown is growing, according to Martinez. “There is a lot of talent in Long Beach,” he said, adding that the addition of WeWork’s offices to downtown have attracted some start-up creative firms to the area.